Under One Sky
by ava-dreams
Summary: Kagome discovers that it is possible to enjoy hating someone to the point of never wanting to let them go. A story for those who don't mind a rom-com every now and then.
1. Chapter 1

A story of how people meet, enjoy life, detest it other times, fall in love, fall apart and in the end create memories to last a lifetime.

Under One Sky

Chapter 1

There are some days that you do not want to do anything. It feels as if the world is a state of sleep and is slowly pulling you in. On a day just like this all Kagome wanted to was curl in her bed and have lucid dreams until eternity. However, the world is not that simple. Lives go on and she knew her cat would come to bother her soon if she didn't feed it. It is rather hard to enjoy oblivion with a feline french kissing you, or worse, licking up your nostril.

Making a fist she rubbed her eyes. Last nights make-up came was smudged all over her pillow. Her phone tinged as a reminder that she just got a new e-mail. Stumbling out of her bed and into the bathroom she pulled the weight of her world onto her shoulders. Peace and calm did not last very long in that world of hers.

"Oh for god's sake Kouga," she shouted, "Why is Ginta sleeping in my tub!"

The man in the tub started to groan and attempted to block the light out of his eyes. A blue eyed wolf demon peeked into the bathroom. He smiled a toothy grin and went to poke Ginta.

"You think he's dreaming he's a fish?"

"Ugh, fine. I don't care. Just get him out of there." Kagome sighed and turned stomping into the kitchen to feed her cat. She found Buyo abandoned as a kitten on the steps of the shrine her family lives in four years ago. Since then he has become the most over-loved cat she knew. She insisted that he only be fed raw food, but she knew that her roommates always snuck him pizza, fries and other such things when she wasn't looking.

She lived with her best friend since high school, Sango and a childhood friend who she loved to hate, Kouga. They moved out together after they finished university. Living at home with their parents in suburbia just didn't give them much excitement anymore. Two years ago Kouga's dad proposed to buy him a condo on the condition that he got himself some responsible roommates. Being a perpetual bad boy he begged Kagome to come stay with him. His father absolutely loved her, and it would give him an excuse to invite her sexy friend Ayame over for parties. Sango came to live with the two of them since she was the only responsible friend they had.

Sango walked out of her room dressed in a full on business pantsuit, down to the briefcase. She made a beeline to the cappuccino machine and let out a big sigh once she had her coffee in her hand. The day just didn't start for her until that first cup of blue mountain brew. She turned to Kagome who started on breakfast.

"I have a date with Miroku tonight." Her face lit up with a smile, "So excited, he's been so busy lately."

"Yeah, haven't seen him around much, work?" Kagome went about setting the table for four. Hakkaku shuffled out of Kouga's room in his boxers. He plopped down next to Sango and went back to sleep with his face on a pate. She proceeded to add another setting.

"Yeah his dad is giving him bigger cases. Mind if I shop your closet? He told me to dress to impress," a coy smile made it onto Sango's face. Miroku was the love of her life. The two of them have been dating since first year of university. On several occasions he has found his flirty personality getting him is serious trouble with Sango, but the two were so in love with each other that a week apart and they would be both at their whit's end.

"That's nice. Sure, but keep your paws off my shoes."

"I know, I know," Sango finished up her breakfast, put her plate in the dishwasher and hurried out the door.

The day flew by fast. It was Kouga's turn to make dinner, and as usual he ordered take out. Him and his two band mates, who had yet to leave or get dressed, occupied the couch loudly commentating some UFC fight that was on.

"Damn, smack that bitch."

"Yo, Martinez is being a wimp. Take it like a man."

"He's goin' down." Kouga whistled pointing his thumb down, "Pass me another beer Kags."

Kagome looked up from her laptop.

"Get it yourself. Can't you see I'm working?" She ran a hand through her hair and went back to typing like a maniac. She pause for a minute to peer over the top of her screen, "P.S. I saw that fight last night. Martinez is gonna be weeping like a baby once he looses."

"Now what you go and ruin it for," Ginta yelled in frustration and got up to get more beers. Kouga smirked and leaned his head back to look at Kagome.

"She be jealous that we be chillin' and that old girl aint," They guys let out a collective laugh.

"Screw you" she said flipping him a bird, "Oh wait, you can't. Your Viagra prescription is need of a refill." The guys laughed again, and Kouga flipped the bird back at her.

"Hey, at least I get some. Don't be hating"

"Fine, got me there," She threw her hands up and went back to her laptop.

The four of them spent most of the evening bickering about this and that. When the fight was over Ginta switched to a Jersey Shore marathon. Kagome joined them in their discussion of who was more ripped, Vinny or Pauly D. This is how Sango found them when she walked in. She took off her shoes, hung her keys by the door and sat down next to Kagome.

"Really, Jersey Shore?"

Kagome gave a big creepy smile.

"You don't like gym, tan, laundry? Shame on you. You should know how hard it is to get into a catfight and have sex with two guys in the span of one episode." She gave Sango a jab in her ribs, "So spill, how did the date go?"

Sango's face lit up. Her hands began flailing and she jumped off the couch and started giggling in a rather creepy manner. Kouga took a swig of his beer and tossed a chip at her.

"Geez, that well, eh?"

"Oh. My. God. He asked me to move in with him!" She proceeded to jump up and down while dancing and twirling around the couch. Kagome squealed and jumped up to join her in celebration.

"Aw man, who's gonna go my laundry now" Kouga whined.

The two girls danced and twirled until Sango bumped into the coffee table falling on top of it. Chips and take out containers went flying all over the floor. Kagome jumped on top of her yelling a battle cry. In moment Ginta joined her and the rest were soon to follow. Sango flailed her arms screaming for mercy. Kagome began tickling her.

"Not until you agree to visit lots." Sango yelled out yes, but Kagome continued her assault. "I don't believe you." At some point their tickle fight turned into a massive pillow fight. They made teams and were now mercilessly pounding on Ginta who was begging them not to aim for his nuts.

Kagome was taking a breather while sitting at the breakfast bar.

"When are you moving out?" Sango dropped her pillow. Her eyes darted from Kagome to Kouga and back.

"Well, we decided the sooner the better," She played with her foot while looking down at the floor, "So, tomorrow I should be all packed up and gone." Everyone stopped what they were doing. A moment of silence passed between all of them. Kagome's face took on a look of shock.

"I can't take care of this retard and his friends by myself," She took in a big breath while rushing over to embrace Sango. "I cannot believe you are leaving so soon." Kagome made a big show of pretending to cry hysterically into Sango's shoulder. Kouga mimicked her.

"Where are we gonna find another roommate like you," He wailed. Ginta perked up.

"Yo, can I move in?" Kagome paused her hysterics and shot him a dirty glare.

"No. Employed applicant only" She stuck her tongue out and went back to her childish antics.

Using this as a writing exercise, excuse my dry writing.


	2. Chapter 2

Under One Sky

Chapter 2

Grunting Miroku slid the last box into the back if his pickup truck. He closed the tailgate and got into the car. He looked over to see Kagome and Sango in an embrace crying.

"For gods sake Kagome, I live like 10 minutes away. You make it seem like she's moving out of the country or something." Kagome let Sango go to get in the car with Miroku. The two blew air kisses at each other as the car made its way out of the parking garage. Sango continued waving until the car turned the corner.

Kouga walked up to Kagome and put his arm around her shoulder. He led her back into the building and into the elevator. She pressed the button for their floor and let out a big sigh. Kouga gave her a light punch on the shoulder making her sway to one side like a limp doll.

"So, not to rub salt in your wound but a buddy of mine is coming by to check out Sango's room today." She looked at him with surprise.

"That was fast," He shrugged.

"Its too lonely when its just the two of us." The elevator stopped and they made their way to their door. He punched in the key code and opened the door. "It looks so empty just knowing Sango is gone."

"Yeah" She kicked off her sneakers and fell onto the couch face first. "Is he anyone it anyone I know?"

"Huh?" He stuck his head out of the fridge and shot her a puzzled look.

"That buddy of yours, the one coming by today."

"Oh. Yeah. Remember Inuyasha from that art history course we all took in first year?" Kagome lifter her arm and pointed her finger at the ceiling.

"The one that used to throw those awesome mansion parties? I thought he lives off of daddy's money." Kouga plopped down on a loveseat next to the couch.

"Apparently his old man cut him off a few weeks ago and is making him work at the company." Kagome perked up at this.

"Oh, tell me what happened. I want all the dirty detail." He shrugged and looked at his phone as it dinged signaling a new text message.

"Ask him yourself, he's apparently on our floor lost trying to find the door." She laughed and got up to open the door. Pulling her head out the shouted and waved at Inuyasha who turned around and waved back. He pulled her into a spinning hug.

"Been ages since I last saw you." He looked her up and down while sounding out a whistle. "Looking good." Kagome looked down to hide her blush. He looked good himself. His hair was long and silver as she remembered it. His face still the same rugged one all the girls used to swoon over. He was taller than her, by a couple of inches. She wondered if underneath his black leather biker jacket he was still as toned as she recalled him being back in school. All the girls back then were head over heels in love with him, however he remained faithful to his girlfriend Kikyo.

"You and Kikyo still together?" She asked. Kouga let out a hiss.

"Touchy subject, better not ask." Kagome looked up at Inuyasha with big eyes and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to pry." Inuyasha shrugged and put his bike helmet on the counter.

"She left me for some jerk a couple of months ago." He made an ok sign with his right hand, "I'm better now. She was a gold-digger anyways." Kouga led them to Sango's old room. It was the one beside Kagome's. The room was rather large. A queen size bed stood in the middle; some shelves, a desk, and a dresser were located elsewhere in the room. Kouga pointed to two doors across the bed.

"That's your bathroom and closet. Any questions?" Inuyasha let out a whistle.

"Sweet crib, how much do I owe you in rent?"

"Nothing man, just that you help out with the chores." They made their way to the kitchen. "We take turns with the food, the trash and every other Sunday is group cleaning time. Don't miss that or Kags will have a fit." He pointed at whiteboard calendar on the wall. "Sango used to be red, so now that's your colour. I'm green and she," He pointed at Kagome, "Is blue."

"When are you moving in your stuff?" Kagome asked. "Oh and why did you dad kick you out?" He let out a small laugh.

"Long story short, dad doesn't want me philandering around because him and mom are adopting some kid." Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. "As for moving in, how does tomorrow sound?"

"Full day of meetings so won't be bothering me." She picked up an apple and walked to her room. Inuyasha followed her rear end with his eyes, quite attentively, as she swayed away in her high waist jeans. Kouga noticed and gave him a pat on the back.

"That bird sings for nobody, better give up now before she breaks your heart."

After a long day of running around town for meetings all Kagome wanted to do was come home, grab a glass of wine, and kick back to catch up on Boardwalk Empire. She found something very sexy in a man that knew how to wield power. It was all the more sexy since he was walking a very fine line between corrupt and necessary, typical capitalist.

She made her way into the apartment taking her shoes and took them into her hand to place into her room. As she walked past the living room into her abode, she noticed a few unfamiliar faces on the couch. There was something strange about them. For sure they were not Kouga's friends. Their stiff postures and suits gave them away.

"Oh hey Kags," Inuyasha yelled from the kitchen. "Back from work already?" He walked towards the men on the sofa with tumblers of ice and a bottle of Johnny Walkers Blue Label. He placed them on the coffee table and proceeded to pour the drinks. As if remembering something he looked up at her as she was walking into her room, "Are you going to join us for a drink?" His eyes had a pleading look to them. Kagome turned to look at him over her shoulder. Her eyes scanned the group of men more closely.

There were three of them; an older gentleman that bore a striking resemblance to Inuyasha, an ill looking, but still surprisingly dashing guy with startling red eyes and black hair, and a silver haired demon who looked peculiarly familiar. The group as a while seemed very out of place, even in the posh condo that they lived in. Her eyes shifted back to Inuyasha and she gave him a smile.

"You seem to be enjoying yourselves already, I really don't wish to intrude." She gave him a wink and closed her door. Dropping her belongings on the floor she jumped onto the bed face first and let out a long breath of air she didn't know she was holding.

There was something about the last demon in that group. He seemed all too familiar. She racked her brain thinking of where she could have seen him. At one of Inuyasha's parties? No, he didn't seem like the type to fraternize with a rowdy group of college students, especially considering the sort of parties that Inuyasha threw. Was it possible that she came across him while working at the gallery, which was the most likely option. They did cater to the rich snobby type that he seemed to belong to.

Shaking her head to clear her mind she crawled up her bed, it was calling to her. After a long and hard day there is nothing quite like a nice nap.

Another chapter down. The original idea was for her to meet him this chapter, but another idea came up on the fly. Once again excuse my dry writing style.


	3. Chapter 3

Wrote this instead of doing my readings. At least I'm doing something.

Under One Sky

Chapter 3

Kagome woke up to a heavy feeling on her chest. She grunted and opened her eyes to find two green eyes staring back at her intently, and then the creature sneezed.

"Oh god! Gross Bouyo." The cat cocked its head. "Get off you fat cat." The cat looked back at her, yawned and walked away swaying its tail. The setting sun was shining a beam of light into her eyes. Stifling a groan she pulled her arm up to shield her eyes from its assault. She rolled off to sit on the side of her bed. With the heels of her palms she rubbed her eyes in an attempt to make herself aware of her surroundings. Thoughts of what needed to be done came flooding into her mind. Her bed creaked under her weight as she got up.

Exiting her room she noticed that the strange guests from earlier were gone. She shuffled her feet over to the fridge, opened it, and leaned over to scour for food. For a good while she blankly stared at the contents as she got lost in her mind. The fridge's beeping brought her out of her reverie startling her. A laugh resounded through the room.

"Whats on your mind, sexy?" Kagome looked over her shoulder to see Inuyasha sitting at the bar, drinking. She went back to looking for dinner in the fridge.

"Bug off." He lifted his drink to his lips and pointed the index finger of the same hand at her.

"By the way, so not cool how you left me to suffer today." She took out pasta ingredients and made proceeded to start cooking.

"You looked cozy to me."

"Bullshit, you love to see me suffer."

"How did you know." She paused her chopping to stir the pasta. "I'm assuming that was your dad coming to make sure you didn't move in with a bunch of drug addicts."

"Yeah. Me moving out was his idea, but I guess he can't help but be concerned." He poured more Johnny Blue into his glass. "You want some? My asshole brother brought it. He's all fancy that one."

"Not sure if whisky is my thing."

"Only assholes drink it."

"Then I guess you must be one."

"I guess so." He downed his drink and poured himself another. Kagome threw him a sideways glance.

"I never knew you had a brother." Inuyasha laid his arms in front of him on the breakfast bar and put his head on top. His eyes stared intently at the whisky in his glass.

"Unfortunately."

"Oh, I see." Kagome never quite understood sibling relationships that went sour. To her it was so simple and basic to love her brother no matter what he did. On many occasions she has felt like killing her brother, or at least maiming him, but the fact that he was her own and in need of her love and protection never escaped her. Finding this subject a little to deep she decided to drop it. "Hungry?" She asked sliding a plate of Fettuccine Alfredo in front of him.

"Is it your turn to cook tonight?"

"No, Sango was supposed to be making dinner tonight." There was longing in her voice.

"Oh man, sorry, I forgot. Want me to cook instead of you tomorrow?"

"Nah, you get settled in." Kagome spoke with her mouth full. "But that is the last time I'm letting you get away with dereliction of duties."

"Yes mom!"

"Don't mock me young man." The two of them broke into laughter.

Days flew by seamlessly. Inuyasha seemed to fit in almost perfectly into their living arrangement. The amount of time they goofed around increased, but that was to be expected with the ever responsible Sango gone. Her and Miroku still paid occasional visits, but the dynamics of the house were already shifting in a new direction with Inuyasha there. He was insistent that in needing to keep up his image as the party god that everyone knows him for, we allow him to throw a housewarming party.

Kouga had strong reservations about the whole idea. The condo was his baby and we were all simply the people that he trusted enough not to turn that baby into a mess. Inuyasha however convinced him that it could handle only party, oh and that he will have his dad's company invite some of its talent.

Inuyasha's father ran a massive company that dealt with anything entertainment. If you can think of it, he had money invested in it; production and filming of movies, a record label, theater productions, a talent management company, clubs, restaurants, bars, sports teams, and the list went on. What Inuyasha did in the company wasn't exactly clear. Some said that he was the face of the company, representing all the fun and amazing times it stood for. Others said that he took the company's resources and used them to fuel a lifestyle of girls and booze. The reality of it was that he did both. He was officially employed by the public relations branch of the company to promote events that were organized by its many subsidiaries. Despite the dismay it cause his father, the business cards he so loved simply said: Inuyasha Taisho, The Life of The Party.

Many people settled down and gave up their dreams to work at nine to fives for nothing more than chasing the dollar. Kagome had immense respect for Inuyasha because he spent every waking moment living life true to himself. The position that he was in at the moment had not existed until he manifested it out of his desire to live life by his own rules.

When Kagome heard Inuyasha's request for a housewarming she saw it as an opportunity.

"No" She set her trap.

"Aw, come on. I thought we had a thing going. How can you do this to a friend?" She took an apple out of the fruit display.

"Seems like a bother." She took a juicy bite out of her apple.

"I'll take care of it, start to finish." He made puppy dog eyes, little did he know that between her brother and Kouga she became immune to them a long time ago. "You won't need to lift a finger."

"I was thinking more along the lines of hoards of strangers invading my personal space."

"You can invite your friends." He tried tiling his head to the side for added puppy effect.

"I didn't realize that was not a given."

"Please, please, please, I'll make it worthwhile." He took the bait.

"I dunno, still seems like a hassle." She took another bite of her apple and made a show of reading her magazine. All of a sudden it was of top priority to know what Giselle wore in the latest Versace campaign.

"I'll even get that hot-tub you've been talking about installed on the patio." She caught her fish.

"Yeah, and have me stuck taking care of it." The magazine in front of her continued to be of top interest.

"Nonsense, I'll pay to have it maintained." He peeked at her magazine to see what she was finding so interesting.

"I dunno, the party still seems like a bad idea." Kagome had genuine concerns about the party. The last party she remembered Inuyasha hosting, a guy got so drunk that when he saw his girlfriend talking to another guy, he took a sword off the mantle and went guns blazing at the girlfriend. At the end of it the two lovebirds made up and out, but the unlucky guy to have spoken to the girl had to go to the hospital and get his pinkie finger re-attached.

"What else do you want, shoes?" Kagome perked up a little. "I'll get you lots of those, heck you can borrow my card and go crazy at Berneys for all I care." And this was where the fisherman got caught in his own line.

"Fine," Looking up from her reading she said, "That hot-tub better be in there when I come back." She shut her magazine and extended her hand. "Now give me your card."

Inuyasha's face lit up. With a little fumbling he took out his wallet and tossed her a card.

"Now I know I said you can shop all you want, but do consider that I work hard for my money." The two of them shared a laugh. His was a little more on the nervous side. Hers was a little more on the sadistic side.

"Really? I thought you partied hard for your money." Her words delivered a low blow.

"Ha, ha, very funny. I may look like a slacker, but someone does have to write up all the reports and keep the expenses in line." He gave her a blank look. "Do you even know how much of a hassle it is to keep all those raving partying lunatics out of jail? Last week some wannabe rock star decided that it would be a lot of street cred if he drove the mayor's vintage Porsche into the pool. I swear I dunno where Sess finds these retards."

"Really, oh man you gotta share more stories. I bet you got millions of them." She put her arm around him and gave him a gentle squeeze. "But right now I'm off to make damage to this these pockets." She patted his ass and strolled to her room.

"Honestly, I wish I could work Miroku like you worked Inuyasha." Sango decided to tag along with Kagome on her mission to bleed Inuyasha dry. A big pile of homework served as her excuse to initially refuse Kagome's invitation, but an offer of a new pair of shoes changed her mind rather quickly.

"I'm sure all you have to do is ask." Kagome walked back and forth in a pair of Celine wedges. "That guy is head over heels for you, plus this is chump change for a law progeny like him."

"I know, but I don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of him." Sango sighed and plopped down in a leather chair. "I can just picture it now, us having a fight over him playing around and justifying it with me having a field day with his money." Kagome turned to her and gave her a pointed stare.

"Dear god woman, how do you come up with these things."

"I just don't want to be a gold-digger."

"My mind can't even imagine you doing that." Kagome raised her voice up an octave. "Miroku honey, I just like totally, oh my god, want this bag. I must like have it." She clasped her arms together and stared Sango in the eyed while blinking rapidly. A quiet stare was exchanged between the two and then they exploded. With a shove from Sango, Kagome went tumbling down in her heels. She lay there on the floor at Barneys as the people around them all stared and whispered to each other about ill mannered youth.

The shop assistant came up to Kagome and extended her hand to help her up.

"Is everything alright over here?" Kagome continued to laugh as Sango looked around in a self-conscious manner.

"We're good."

"We're great!" Kagome added.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" The girl inquired.

"Do you have those Giuseppe Zanotti pumps," She pointed her finger at a display some way away, "In my size?" The girl turned to look at the pumps.

"I will be right back."

"Geez Kags, keep it together girl."

"You have got to admit, you as a gold digger just doesn't work." Kagome made herself comfortable in a chair next to Sango. "School will be over soon and you'll be able to afford all the nice things you couldn't before."

"First come those massive loans I have to pay back."

"I don't know why anyone would want to become a doctor considering all the effort and money it takes to become one. What's worse is that once you become a doctor its even more work."

"Well I like it." Sango huffed and picked up a box of shoes to try on.

"Whatever you say." The shop assistant returned with the shoes Kagome requested earlier.

"Those are hot." Sango said appreciatively.

"Should I add them to the keep pile?" Kagome looked over to the stack of four boxes by her chair. "What's one more or less when you are on a Taisho budget."

"He is going to kill you when he sees the bill."

"I'm sure he won't even notice."

The total damage to Inuyasha's card was a cool five thousand dollars. He was not all too pleased to see the receipt but went on grumbling about girls and useless shoe addictions.

"Oh don't complain. You were the one that offered to feed my habit." Kagome said in a mocking tone.

"And I learned my lesson. Next time I will get you a gift card to Aldo." She reached over to his side of the couch and ruffled his hair. Arms flailing he attempted to stop the assault.

"Don't go sulking now."

"You're almost as bad as my brother." He suddenly exclaimed. "I should lock you both in a room and have you annoy each other. Maybe then I will get a moment of peace." Kagome set go of his hair. Crossing her arms in front she raised an eyebrow. His sudden outburst surprised her.

"What do you mean I'm annoying? Just yesterday you were singing my praise while getting a massage from me. Might I add that I took over breakfast for you two days ago when you were," She lifted her fingers up in mock quotation, "Busy with that blonde."

"Fine, I love you, but I'd still lock you in a room with that bastard just to torture him." She gave his shoulder a shove. "I know you'd find an enjoyable way to make him miserable." The second time around she gave his shoulder a much harder shove. As to not be outdone he returned the shove back at her. What ensued forth was a wrestling match. That is exactly how the two were discovered by Kouga.

"I leave you two alone for a while and look at what I come back to." Kouga gave a low whistle. "Get a room." The two immediately jumped away from one another. A blush stained Inuyasha's face, while Kagome made a beeline for the fridge due to her sudden thirst. Inuyasha let out a small cough.

"How was work?"

"Pretty good, Jell-O is finally looking favorable to let us use their name for a Jell-O shot kit." Kouga might not look it, but he is a genius at what he does. While in college he fell in love with alcohol and that love stuck to him. His passion for it led him to his current job as a research and developer for some alcohol company. Who knew a chemistry degree could get so well used.

"Sounds sweet, cannot wait to test it out." Inuyasha threw a thumbs up. "Now if only someone came up with brownie kits."

"I think that's illegal" Piped in Kagome.

"Who has that ever stopped?" Kouga responded. "I'm sure the government stands to make a lot of money if they legalize and regulate weed."

"Don't they kind of do that already with the medical shit?" Asked Inuyasha.

"Yeah, but right now its like the prohibition. A few rich old white dudes are making all the money. Problem with legalizing it is that not only will the price go down, but the competition will go up."

"Oh stop pushing your conspiracy theories Kouga." Said Kagome, "What you both should be concerned with is that both your dads are rich white guys that run this world. Don't even get me started how the youkai hoard wealth like no tomorrow." With those words she went to pick up the sushi delivery from the door. She brought it back and put it on the table. Inuyasha went rummaging through the delivery bag.

"Aw man, you didn't get any spicy salmon sushi." He shot her a glare. "And what happened to cooking dinner tonight?" Kagome glared back at him.

"I was too tired after spending why whole day off shopping."

"This is why marriage is a lie." Murmured Inuyasha.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch it." asked Kagome in a fake inquisitive tone.

"Nothing." Inuyasha shot back at her and stuffed his face with sashimi.

A little longer. Felt like I needed to set up some basic background info on the characters. Next Chapter will be the two main protagonists finally interacting.

Please read and review.


	4. Chapter 4

This one is a little short but to the point. Enjoy!

Under One Sky

Chapter 4

Music was loudly blasting through the condo. Anywhere you looked there were people drinking, people talking, people dancing, and people attempting to get personal. When Inuyasha said he was going to only invite close friends and a few people from the company he greatly misrepresented the number of people that he was close with. It seemed that everyone that showed up was either his best buddy or at least pretending to be. There were some people to have the decency to not at least pretend to know him and clearly stated that they neither knew him, or where they even were.

Kagome attempted to find salvation on the patio, only to discover that not only was is more crowded than the condo (she had no idea how that was possible), but that if she stayed any longer she would be high as a kite. Shoving her was back into the kitchen she beelined for the bar.

"Two shots of tequila." The bartender cupped his hand to the ear and threw her a lost look.

"Can't hear you." He mouthed. She leaned closer and yelled as loud as she could.

"Two shots of tequila." He pulled back and gave her a sour face.

"No need to yell, geez." The bartender poured her the shots and slid them over. She took the first shot and downed it. Her hand reached for the second shot of tequila but it wasn't there. It seemed that Kouga got to it first.

Swinging his head far back he made fast work of the tequila. He slammed the shot glass onto the table and wiped his mouth with his sleeve letting a quick loud breath. Kouga cocked his head in her direction, swung his arm around her shoulder and yelled over the music.

"My poor, poor condo." She patted him on the back.

"Don't cry my friend."

"I think I saw nun-chucks." He said and glanced around the room.

"You're kidding me!" She glanced around as well.

"I wish." He waved at the bartender and signaled him two more.

"Well, if you can't fight them, might as well join them." Two more tequila shots were placed in front of them. Lifting her shot up she said, "Let's drink to Inuyasha never throwing a party here again." Kouga let out a wide grin.

"I'll be drinking to that all night."

"You do that, since praying doesn't seem to help." She threw him a wink. Another set of shots was placed in front of them. "Lets send another prayer to the tequila gods." He lifted up his shot glass to cheers with hers and uttered.

"Amen"

Out of the corner of her eye Kagome saw a familiar face and waved.

"Ayame! Over here."

A short red-haired youkai did fast work of shoving through the crowd over to Kagome. The girl wore loose green dress that was belted with a black ribbon. Upon appearing in front of Kagome she threw her arms around her neck.

"What the heck is going on? I thought this was a small get together." The redhead yelled over the music.

"It was, but Inuyasha apparently didn't get the memo." Kagome made a gun with her right hand and pretended to blow out her brains. "Thanks for coming. Kouga's been beside himself with anticipation." She shifted her eyes over to the male youkai and lifted her eyebrows up and down dramatically.

Ayame swatted at Kagome's arm. She then turned to Kouga giving him a shy smile and an awkward wave. Looking at the two Kagome got the hint to make herself sparse. She smoothly blended into the crowd as the two became engrossed in a conversation.

In the far corner of the room Inuyasha was chatting up some well known singer whose name Kagome forgot. When he noticed her looking his way, he lifted up his glass to cheers her and shone her a big smile. Kagome scoffed at that and thought 'what a player.'

Sango and Miroku made cozy in one of the loveseats. At this point the two of them had so much sexual tension that Kagome was sure the air around them was distorting. Deciding that she needed a small break she began squeezing through the crowd to the door to her room. She felt a sudden pressure on her ass as a hand reached out to squeeze it. Grabbing the appendage she dug her nails in and heard a yelp. Quickly, she released the hand and doubled her efforts to the safety of her room.

Earlier in the night when the party was only becoming hectic she had the brilliant idea of locking her bedroom door in the case that she might walk in on a couple of guests thoroughly enjoying her bed. As she shut the door behind her she leaned on the back of the door and imaginarily patted herself on her shoulder for her earlier stroke of genius.

She pushed off the door and walked over to her bed tossing herself onto it. For several moments she lay there in the darkness simply staring at her ceiling, reveling at the quite reprieve that her room provided. Then she heard the flush of a toilet and the running of the sink.

Her whole body jerked up. The light shone through the bottom crack of her washroom door. A million possibilities ran through her head. She distinctly remembered not only locking her door, but it being locked when she came in moment ago. Cautiously she reached under her bed and took out the baseball bat that her grandfather gave her to chase away boys when she moved away for college. Never in a million years did Kagome think that there might come a time when she would need to use it in the purpose that her grandfather intended for it.

Slowly getting off the bed she tiptoed over to stand by the bathroom door. She pressed her ear to the door. After some time the intruder turned off the tap. High on adrenaline Kagome readied herself for an attack. In the next instant two things happened; the door to the bathroom opened and Kagome swung the bat with a battle cry shutting her eyes in the process. Her protective instincts kicked into overdrive and she swinging the bat once again.

This time her bat did not swing back. Kagome pulled on it hard, but her attempts were futile. Slowly letting her eyes open she met with a surprising sight. In front of her stood one of the most gorgeous youkai she had the pleasure of ever laying eyes on. The trouble was that he did not look at all pleased to meet her. A big scowl was on his face as he stared back at her. The youkai's right hand held the bat and the left looked ready to stack her back. Kagome giggled nervously.

"Ugh, hi." He continued staring at her. She stared back. For what seemed like eternity the two looked at each other with a mixture of surprise and confusion. Then a thought struck Kagome in the head. This was not just some hot guy coming out of her bathroom, this was an intruder. She jerked her bat out of his grasp and using a level tone of voice asked, "What the hell are you doing in my room?"

The youkai's face instantly lost all emotion and turned blank.

"Using the facilities." Kagome was taken aback by his brazen bluntness.

"Let's rephrase it. What the hell are you doing in my _locked_ room?" She said quietly letting a small amount of her anger escape through her voice.

"Taking a piss." His reply shocked her.

"Excuse me? Did you just say that." The words came out of her mouth in a stutter.

"Yes." He replied bluntly. Her anger escalated.

"Yes?" She echoed his reply.

"Yes"

"Who the fuck do you think you are. How the fuck did you get into my room." She looked him straight in the eyes as if to challenge him. "I better not find anything missing." The youkai simply shoved him way past her and began walking to her bedroom door. She turned around and threw the bat at him. "Oh no you didn't just walk away from me."

This was the act that finally got his attention. In a split second she found herself face to face with the youkai who from a certain perspective could be said to have looked a little bit livid.

"You test my patience."

"And you are testing mine." She replied. "Need I remind you that it was you that broke into my room."

"I did no such thing."

"Well the door was locked, unless you can walk through walls there is no other way of getting in here."

"The door was open." She scoffed at his reply and pointed at the door.

"I locked that door myself over an hour ago. Five minutes ago that door was still locked when I came in, so don't lie to me. What in the world are you doing in here?"

"Well then you must have locked me in here." His words baffled her.

"What do you mean I locked you in here? I did no such thing."

"Can't you shut up and listen for a moment." His hand reached into his pocket and he took out his blackberry. Lifting it up in the air he spoke, "I came in here a while ago to take a call. I'm guessing you didn't check the room when you locked me in here. Now if you're done I'll be taking my leave."

"And what if I call a bluff. Who in the world takes a two hour phone call, especially at one of Inuyasha's parties." She looked at him with a smug look on her face.

"What is wrong with you woman?"

"Me? What's wrong with me? I'm not the one sneaking into strangers' rooms."

"I've had enough of this. What can I expect from a being that socialized with my half-brother." A smirk crossed his face. "Monkey see, monkey do." Kagome's jaw dropped. Never in her life had she been so insulted.

"Monkey?" Her finger poked him in the shoulder. "Monkey! I'm assuming you're Inuyasha's half-brother Sesshoumaru. You know, he was right. You are an arrogant asshole." He froze in place.

"Who are you to talk down to me, human." Kagome poked him once again and pointed at the door.

"Get the fuck out of my room. No, better yet, get out of my house." She yelled at the top of her lungs.

"My pleasure, being in the presence of such filth disgusts me." The youkai stalked out of her room slamming her door on his way out. After a few breaths to calm herself she followed him out the door. Once back in the living room she angrily shoved her way to Inuyasha and made no excuses about interrupting his conversation with the singer whose name she still couldn't recall.

"Now look, I get your pain about having that asshole as your half-brother." She uttered each word with extra caution and malice. "If he is to ever set foot in this house again, he and you will both leave eunuchs. Am I understood?" Stunned all Inuyasha could do was nod. With a huff Kagome stormed over to the bar, the crowd parting to let her pass.

For the rest of night Kagome occupied the farthest stool at the bar. Not a single person approached her for fear of disturbing the slumbering lion. Occasionally as people passed her, mutters of murder and curses could be heard. She sat there all the way to the end of the party when Kouga gently got her up off her stool and led her to her room, still muttering.

When Kouga came back out Inuyasha waited for him at the door.

"I'm not sure if I want to know or not what the hell Sesshoumaru did to piss her off." Kouga shrugged his shoulders.

"There is one thing I know about Kagome. She is the nicest person in the world, but when you piss her off, its war." To emphasize his point Kouga lifted his thumb and slid it across his throat.

How's that for first impressions. Should we find out what happens when you get on Kagome's bad side in the next chapter?

Please don't forget to review. ~^_^~


	5. Chapter 5

I just realized that it might be wise to warn anyone reading this that I do not read back my writing. For the most part it just flows out of my brain right onto the page. There might be a lot of grammar and spelling mistakes. I ask you to use your imagination in places that I might have garbled up what it was I was meaning to write.

… … …

Under One Sky

Chapter 5

The first day after the party Kagome spent in bed with a terrible hangover. Occasionally

Kouga or Inuyasha would peek in to see if she was still alive. Both were greeted by groaning and chased away by incessant cursing.

On the second day Kagome finally emerged out of her room. Her visual condition improved greatly from the day before, however her mood turned for the sour. The atmosphere of gloom spread rather fast everywhere she went. By the end of the day it got so bad that Kagome's assistant left for home in tears.

When on the third day Kagome couldn't stop thinking about Inuyasha's jerk half-brother she knew she was doomed. Her anger was on the rise. She knew that despite the truce between humans and youkai three hundred years ago there were some that still held on to their outdated beliefs. Those types of youkai tended to seclude themselves as to minimize their interactions with humans. Despite knowing that such prejudices existed, she never thought that she would be on the receiving end.

Who did that jerk think he was? It's true that his wealth and power was immense, but that gave him no right to look down at her. Kagome was raised in a household where equality was taught in abundance. That was apparently not the case for the silver haired idiot. She completely understood Inuyasha's constant bitching about him. It must not have been easy to grow up a hanyou when you had a brother that was youkai arrogance personified. If she ever saw him again, which she secretly hoped she would, she would definitely teach him a thing or to about respect.

Thinking about the jerk was not going to get her anywhere and yet that was all her mind kept racing to. With jerky moves she picked up her military green leather jacket and threw it over her shoulders. She slammed every single door on her way out of the house.

Several hours later Kagome finally came to her senses. She stood in the middle of her studio with a palette knife in one hand and a tube of cadmium red oil paint in the other. In her rage she mindlessly began painting. Stroke after stroke the canvas slowly came to life. She laid all her rage into the painting. Her mind raced with all the things that she would do to the silver haired youkai once she got her hands on him and with each new swatch of colour her anger dissipated.

She took a step back from the painting and breathed a sigh of relief. She felt much like a calm sea after the storm. To her painting was a way to make everything better. In the moments when it was just her and a canvas the rest of the world seemed a million miles away. Kagome absolutely loved painting, but there was a little problem; she had not painted in over a year. On many occasions she tried. She would stand in front of the canvas, gazing at it. Nothing she painted seemed right. Canvas after canvas was discarded by her.

In her last year of university painting took over her life. Day after day she found herself in the studio painting. With a little encouragement from her now friend Bankotsu, she showed at his gallery and somehow it became a big success. Kagome's paintings became all the rage with the trust fund socialites because they claimed they found themselves in her paintings. The critics were not as friendly. They gave her the nickname of 'lonely girl'. At first she didn't understand it. The day she finally realized that in all of her works she painted herself alone and leaving she lost her inspiration. The moment she lost her art was the moment she realized that she is at peace with herself.

To say the least she was in shock to see the finished painting in front of her. A small part of her panicked. After several months of attempting to paint she resigned herself to the fact that she could only paint when her life was in a breakdown. Did the canvas in front of her mean that there was something wrong? She dismissed the thought with a shake of her head. This painting did not look like her old ones, it screamed murder.

"A year of nothing and this is what you choose to draw?" She jumped, startled at the voice behind her.

"Geez Bank, you almost gave me a heart attack" She put her hand up to heart.

"You" He pointed at her, "Almost gave me a heart attack. Imagine my surprise when I came by the gallery only to find you painting like a madwoman in the studio."

"Didn't have to startle me" She replied.

"I did knock, in fact I've been watching you for at least half an hour."

"Aw man, really? Oops." She gave Bankotsu a big smile. "Sorry, I just had a lot I had to get off my chest."

"Oh, I can see that." He walked up closer to the painting and gave it a little scrutiny. "I like this one. Can I sell it?"

"You think someone would want that hanging in their house?" She looked at the painting and grimaced. "It looks like I performed a brutal murder on that canvas." He slowly walked back from the painting towards her.

"Whoever you were trying to kill, can you do it again on that canvas over there." He waved his hand over to the left. "These will definitely sell like hotcakes. Apocalyptic art has been flying off the shelves lately." Kagome simply shook her head and went about cleaning up her tools.

"That might be a one off."

"You break my heart." Bankotsu said with mock hurt. "May I still sell it?"

"Go ahead. I really don't want to keep it around as a reminder."

"A reminder of what?" He was intrigued.

"A reminder of how much some people need a spanking." She burst into laughter. He simply stared at her. "I was just blowing some steam. This is in no way indicative of me painting again… I think."

"Whatever, I'm just happy you painted anything." Bankotsu smiled showing his pearly whites. "Wanna grab a drink to celebrate?" She returned his smile and picked up her jacket from the floor.

"Like the old times."

"Like the old times." He echoed back.

… … …

Sesshoumaru stared at the screen of his laptop. In an attempt to drone out his idiot half-brother he immersed himself in catching up with his e-mail correspondence. Most of it was almost as dull as whatever the half-breed had to say, but not quite as much.

"Are you even listening?" Inuyasha slammed his hands onto his desk. Sesshoumaru continued with his e-mails.

"No"

"How could I forget, you only listen to the sound of your own voice." Inuyasha received no reply. This only served to infuriate him further. "You better show up or dad will be pissed."

"Where?" Sesshoumaru continued to go though his e-mails.

"The company yacht."

"Why?"

"Did you not get anything I was saying in the past five minutes? It's some auction charity thing he's throwing. Out attendance is not conditional."

"Noted." He came to the e-mail invitation his father sent him for the party. Black tie, how expected of his father. Everything he did was either a circus or a parade. Inuyasha leaned closer to him from across the desk.

"It's been bothering me." He scratched his head, "What did you say to Kagome. She's been on a murder rampage since my party." Sesshoumaru looked at the hanyou with confusion in his eyes.

"Who?"

"My roommate, oh boy. She's been at her whit's end and you don't even remember who she is."

"How is that any concern of mine?"

"So you don't remember what you said to her? Couldn't be nothing."

"Nothing worth mentioning." Inuyasha was beginning to very much bother him. Sesshoumaru full well knew what it was that he had done to set off the rage in the hanyou's human roommate. She had the audacity to not only brandish a weapon at him but to speak obscenities him. All he had done was simply put her in her place.

"Whatever it is you said, you got her steaming." Inuyasha stated in a matter of fact manner. "I highly suggest visiting my new dig more often. She said she'd really like to see you again." Sesshoumaru paused in his typing and reached over to his office phone. Picking it up he dialed his assistants' extension.

"Show this idiot out of my office." Moments later the door opened and two identical dragon youkai walked in. They made their way towards Inuyasha. He promptly got up lifting his hands up in the air.

"I'm leaving, no need to get all touchy-feely." The three of them left his office and Sesshoumaru stopped working in his e-mails. They had proven to be a good enough distraction from the hanyou, but not his thoughts. Why had the stupid human woman come up in this conversation, just when he stopped thinking about her.

It didn't strike him when he first saw her, but he couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity. Last night he finally figured out what about the human was so familiar. He now wished that he didn't recall those memories. Shaking his head he forced thoughts of her away.

Sesshoumaru reached for his phone and texted Naraku. He needed a drink, bad. It was the only way for him to chase away these perturbing thoughts.

… … …

The world seemed like a better place after Kagome's painting session a few days back. Most of the rage she had for Inuyasha's half brother seemed to have imbedded itself in the painting. Spring was here early and she was free to enjoy it to her heart's content.

A few weeks ago Kagome's cousin Kikyo called her to tell her that she will be in town for an audition. The two of them were never particularly close, mainly due to the fact that the only times they saw each other was at big family occasions. The last time they met was at the bi-annual family gathering in Florida. It was then that Kikyo announced to the family that she would pursue a full-time acting career much to the dismay of her doctor parents.

They had arranged to meet in the park by the beach at 3pm. Kikyo was ten minutes late, and Kagome was a freak about punctuality. She was sitting on the bench, playing on her phone when Kikyo decided to show up.

"Sorry about the wait, got held up in the audition." She gave Kagome a big smile and plopped down next to her on the bench. Kagome put her phone in her jacket pocket and gave the flustered girl a hug.

"Next time text me if you're running late, or just not be late."

"Is that the greeting that I get?"

"Yes, you're late."

"Oh fine, don't be a grouch."

"How did the audition go?" Asked Kagome.

"I never can tell." Kikyo said while making herself busy playing with the end of her long hair. "How have you been?"

"Alright, working a lot these days."

"Still making all the cash selling those depressing paintings? I never really got them." Kikyo looked up at the sky. Kagome followed her gaze.

"I stopped that a while ago, although the occasional piece still sells. I'm working for a fashion house now." Kikyou's eyes lit up.

"That sounds like fun."

"Not really, its very stressful." Kagome reached attempted to reach for a particularily fluffy cloud.

"Do you at least like it."

"I love it."

"That's all that matters." Kikyo said with a tinge on sadness. "Some days I think that maybe I don't really like acting at all."

"I have those thought too, I think its part of being human to doubt yourself." Kagome turned her head from the sky to look at her cousin. "Lets not get all depressed. How long are you in town for?"

"If the audition goes through then I'll start filming, so a few months. Otherwise I'm only here till I get a response from them."

"Where are you staying?"

"A girlfriend of mine from high school lives not far from here. She's letting me crash till I find out the results."

"You could have called me up to crash." It wasn't that Kagome wanted her cousin to come stay with her that badly. She was actually happy not to have to play tour guide. It was rather that her family oriented upbringing was making her feel responsible for making sure that all was well with Kikyo. On many an occasion family from out of town came to stay with her family at the shrine. When family didn't request for hospitality it was considered odd. It was for that reason that Kagome volunteered her spare futon.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything by not calling you up. Auntie actually offered me your old room in the shrine when I called her up. I love family and all but there are those times when you just want to spend time gossiping about silly things with your friends." Kikyo played with the hem of her dress as she spoke.

"No offence taken. Just making sure that you know that you are always welcome."

"Thank you." Kikyo looked at her watch. "I better go or I'll be late meeting my friend." She leaned over and gave Kagome a big hug. "Nice seeing you."

"Call me up once you find out about the audition." Kagome hugged her back. The two separated and Kikyo stood up to leave.

"For sure. See you later." With those words Kikyo hurried away down the path leaving Kagome to ponder about some of her other cousins as she continued to observe the sky.

… … …

The two protagonists didn't meet this chapter. I felt like there was a little character building that I skipped over in the previous chapters. Fret not, the two will be at each other's throats soon enough.

Instead of writing an essay on Aristotle and Machiavelli I wrote this. Fits the word count about right. Now I need to get back to pondering on the importance of politics to society.

Don't forget to drop me a review. I really want to know what you are thinking about the story.


	6. Chapter 6

We are taught not to judge a book by its cover, but what they miss to tell us that in the end all we do is still judge.

It's been a crazy weekend, so I must admit, this chapter might make very little sense.

Under One Sky

Chapter 6

… … …

Inuyasha made his way to the bar and came to stand beside his half-brother. He signaled the bartender to pour him another whisky.

"You may be the biggest spender of the night, but that hardly qualifies you to be a bore." Taking the drink he had just acquired he turned around to face the party while leaning against the bar. "You've been glued to this bar since we boarded."

"Piss off." Sesshoumaru continued studying the lined of bottles decorating the back of the bar. Inuyasha let out a chuckle.

"If you hate it here so much, then why don't you just jump ship?" Inuyasha lifted up his arm and moved it in an arch in front of him. "Pick a side, any side you like. If you would like I can help you. It would in fact be my pleasure."

"Shall I tie you to the anchor and then drop it?" Inquired Sesshoumaru while giving his drink a gentle swirl.

"Oh, I'm gonna shit my pants now."

"What do you want?" Sesshoumaru finally turned his head to look at his bastard brother who in turn turned his body back towards the bar.

"I want you to either pretend to enjoy the party or to get lost below deck." Inuyasha put a little edge into his voice. "I work hard to make these shenanigans fun, and unless you want to burn money I suggest you get with the program."

"So I see." Sesshoumaru said to Inuyasha and waived the bartender over. "A bottle of Rémy Martin." Taking the bottle in one hand and his glass in the other he began walking towards the stairs to below deck at a steady pace.

This whole party made him sick to his stomach. He was all up for charity, but not when it was all really a façade for every two bit money man to show off just how much money they can throw around. None of them cared about the cause. Most of them didn't even know what the cause was. To socialize with such idiocy made him feel like an idiot himself.

If only the damned party wasn't taking place on a yacht, then he would have been long gone. Knowing that he could hide away from this circus in a quiet room made it if only a little bearable. Sesshoumaru tried the first door, only to catch the bar-back and one of his company's talents pleasuring each other. With due haste he left them to their debauchery and made some way down the hallway to another room that was this time unoccupied.

The room was rather spacious for being on a boat. There was one tiny cubby window that the moonlight was streaming in from. Not bothering to turn on the lights Sesshoumaru made his way to an armchair. Settling in, he poured himself some cognac and reveled in the relative silence of the room.

… … …

Kagome felt very out of place at the party. It was not her first time attending such an event, she however felt as much an outsider as she did at her first such event. On normal circumstance she would not be caught dead at a party of this sort, but Bankotsu had called in a favor. He was representing several of his artists at a pop-up gallery in Art Basel in Miami and needed her to attend this party as his representative. Almost every single person on this boat had bought into Bankotsu's propaganda and bought art that was labeled as genius by him.

It seemed that quite a few of the people at the party owned her paintings and she had to listen to them drone while pretending to care. One good thing was that Inuyasha was the one who organized the event, so she had a friend to talk to. Trouble was that he was too busy to spare her more than a fleeting moment.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around she saw a man Inuyasha earlier introduced to her as his father.

"Enjoying the party?" He asked her.

"As much as I can, sir." He let out a deep chuckle.

"Don't call me names, Toga is fine." Toga looked almost exactly like Inuyasha, but older and much more powerful. As far as she knew he was some sort of youkai royalty. In human society he was a very powerful man as well, so having a conversation with him put pretty much anyone on their toes. "I hear you are a painter."

"Among other things." Kagome said and took a sip of her tequila sunrise.

"Bankotsu showed me the latest piece you did. Rather violent, but very much in my taste. Are you planning on exploring more of that avenue?"

"I'd rather not." She stated bluntly, "But you never know where life will lead you."

"That is true." Toga gave her a gentle smile. "It's a shame that there might not be more in that series."

"How so?"

"I was going to propose a commission of a mural in the lobby of the new hotel." Kagome looked at him with a look of surprise. It struck her a little odd that she man would connect her piece of murder on canvas with something that should be inviting.

"Thank you, but I must note your peculiar interests." She creased her brow while looking down into her glass. "That particular work doesn't altogether radiate hospitality that much."

"Maybe I should have mentioned that its for our brand of boutique hotels catering to the youkai community." He leaned in a little closer and made a big show of pretending to whisper. "You know youkai and their love for all things messy."

"Oh." Kagome stated meekly.

"Well, if you find it in you to paint such violent work again do have Bankotsu ring me up."

"Most certainly." He gave her a nod of the head and she watched him saunter on to some old spinsters.

A shiver ran down Kagome's back. The night just kept getting odder and odder. In an attempt to salvage at least part of the night she made her way to the bar. She ordered another tequila sunrise to make her woes disappear.

Soon enough she felt her urges to use the washroom become stronger. She remembered Inuyasha saying something about washrooms and stairs earlier. Taking a look around the deck she spotted stairs leading down. At the bottom of the stairs was a dimly lit hallway. Doors lined it left and right. She walked along looking upon every door to indicate that it might be a washroom. After a few doors she decided to try one in hopes of it being the right one.

Kagome slowly turned the knob and opened the door just as cautiously. She had a strange fear that a boogie man was going to jump out at her. What she found was a small room with a bed and a door that she presumed led to the bathroom. She stepped into the room closed the door behind her and made a beeline for the facilities. A voice stopped her in her tracks.

"This room is occupied." She let out a small squeal and a jump. Turning towards the voice she saw her worst nightmare. There in the chair by the corner sat the boogie man, Sesshoumaru Taisho. His hair seemed to glow in the meager rays of the moonlight making their way through the tiny window. His bowtie and shirt were undone and in his hands he had a glass of what looked to be hard liquor.

"You." She whispered.

"Me." He said.

"What are you doing here?" She spat out with venom in her voice. In the darkness she could see one of his eyebrows go up.

"Having a drink, by myself." He stated and lifted his glass up a little to show her. That seemed to frustrate her.

"What are you doing at this party?" She bit out.

"The door is that way." He pointed to emphasize his point.

"That's right, I forgot that you can't stand human presence."

"Just yours." He said, letting the words linger heavily in the air.

"Whatever. Don't have to shit me a brick. I'll be out of your hair in a moment." Kagome said and walked to the washroom.

Her words threw him into a rage and he threw his glass at the washroom door. She was very lucky it was closed. The glass shattered on impact and the door opened very soon after. An angry Kagome looked at him, then the door, the floor and finally back at him. Her face held the look of a livid madman.

"You almost killed me." She shouted.

"Oops." His hand covered his mouth and he cocked his head to the side.

"That's it. I'm going to teach you a lesson in respect, you asshole." She carefully tiptoed around the broken glass and lunged for the pillows on the bed. Grabbing one she made a swing at Sesshoumaru. He easily blocked it. With a roar he stood up and showed her onto the bed.

"Know your place bitch." He grabbed the pillow out of her hands and tore it into two. Feathers exploded all over the room. Not the least bit in shock, Kagome yelled back at him.

"Who do you think you are? You're nothing but a spoiled brat." She balled her fists and made a rubbing motion in the air in front of her face. "Wah, wah, daddy I want that candy."

"Shut up woman." He made a step closer to the bed. "Or, I'll throw you overboard."

"Oh, fuck off." She threw him the birdie. "Didn't I Inuyasha tell you to never show your face in front of me again, or I'll fry you to dust." In a flash he was hovering on the bed on top of her, His face millimeters from hers. She felt the slight touch of his hand on her neck.

"I suggest you keep your threats to yourself, if you value your life." He stared into her blue depths for emphasis. To his surprise she stared back into his eyes defiantly. Her right hand found its way into his chest and he suddenly felt a great deal of pain. She dared to use her miko powers on him. In response he tightened his grip in her neck.

"I suggest you leave." Kagome said each word slowly and with a lot of force. He slowly released her throat and got up from the bed.

"No." He refused. "I suggest you leave."

"Fine." She bit out and got off the bed. Walking past him she slammed the door as hard as she could on her way out.

As soon as the door was just Sesshoumaru grabbed his forgotten bottle of cognac and downed it. He tossed the empty bottle at the door that she slammed and fell back onto the bed seething. The next time he saw that woman he would make her submit to him.

… … …

Oh no, a fight. I felt like tossing a little fuel to the fire.

Well, I'm off to vacation and right after its exams and more vacation, so it might be a while till the next chapter.

Don't forget to review. Your opinions matter.

… … …


	7. Chapter 7

This one took me a little while to get around to due to vacation and exams. Mostly setting the scene and a little character building.

Enjoy!

Under One Sky

Chapter 7

… … …

All eyes were on Kagome when she came back on deck. Inuyasha grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her to a private corner.

"Get a hold of yourself. Remember where you are." He hissed into her ear. "This boat is full of youkai. Definitely not the place to show off your miko powers." His words brought her back down to earth. She closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths, calling back her miko energy.

She forced her mind to think of all things happy and nice. Her mind kept on thinking of ways dismember the jerk below deck. The thought of turning him into his youkai form manifested itself. A small white puppy yipped and barked as she put a collar around it. That is exactly what he deserved.

"All better." She said with a smile.

"We're docking in a bit, get in my car, you'll be safe there." Inuyasha waved over a security guard. "Keep an eye on her."

… … …

"What an asshole." Sango exclaimed.

"My sentiments exactly." Kagome chimed in. The two were out on their by-weekly catch up date. Since Sango's move they found that because of their busy schedules girl time became more and more scarce. A dinner date was set up for every other Monday, rain or shine. Most of these nights turned into drunk gossip sessions about childhood friends and girlfriends from university that were consistently getting married and engaged. Tonight's hot topic was a certain dog demon that had Kagome ready to commit murder. In great detail she relayed her story of woe, portraying him as an unfeeling, self-loving monster.

"Look on the bright side," Pointed out Sango, "At least you're making money from this whole situation."

"Yeah, but at what cost." Kagome slumped back in her seat. "My stress level is through the roof." Sango threw her a flat look.

"Please, if I got paid what Inutaisho is dishing out for your mural, I'd be cool with stressing for the rest of my life." Sango leaned forward and stole a fry from Kagome's plate. On a normal occasion she would have been reprimanded for such a blatant theft of edibles, but not even that could get through Kagome's blue mood. "Oh cheer up, its not like you have to see the jerk ever again." Kagome slumped even further into her chair, her face barely above the table.

"I kind of want to see him again." She cast her eyes upon her hands that were picking lint off the tablecloth. Great detail was paid as she systematically plucked each piece and tossed it to the floor. The specks floated down to meet the slowly growing pile on the floor. "You know, just to give him a piece of my mind. He obviously thinks that the world revolves around him. Yes, his ego is so big that it has the gravitational pull of a black hole that sucks all the joy out of living, but come on. I'm sure Kanye West can give this jerk a lesson in humility. "

"Oh dear." Sango threw her arms in the air letting them fall and grasp her head. "Do the world a favour and stay away from that man. He's no good. Ya hear me? No good." The entire time she was shaking her head while looking down at the empty plate in front of her. She knew that trying to convince her friend about anything once she made up her mind was pointless, but she did want to be able to tell her to her face 'I told you so'.

"I'm not gonna look for him, but I we run into each other. Well, let's just say he had it coming."

"Aha" Sango said as she made herself busy on her phone. Not caring that she was being tuned out Kagome continued on complaining.

"A little blast of my miko powers into his balls, and he'll be begging me to heal them back. Oh I can just see the expression on his face." At this point she lowered her voice, "Oh please Kagome, please spare my balls. I might need them to make more little jerks like me. Don't do the world a favour." She then switched to an evil witch voice. "Oho, I sentence you to the life of a eunuch for your crimes against my sanity." At this point she began laughing uncontrollably and slamming her hand against the table. Several people at the tables around them threw her worried glances.

"Damn." Sango let out appreciatively. She proceeded to show Kagome her phone. "He may be an asshole, but he sure does look smoking hot without his shirt on."

"Gee, whose side are you on?" Kagome crossed her arms and made a show of looking away.

"Until he calls me, I'm on yours." Sango said while raising her eyebrows up and down. This had Kagome instantly lean forward and try and smack her best friend. In defense Sango tried swatting her away with a napkin.

"I'm gonna tell Miroku about your little crush."

"Oh no," Sango froze, "What time is it?" Kagome reached over and clicked on a button to turn Sango's phone on. It lit up to show 11:45 pm. Sango all of a sudden jumped up from her seat and began frantically gathering her things. "I promised to be home by 11:30 to listen to him practice his closing statement for the big case he has tomorrow."

The two exchanged hugs and kisses and Sango bolted out the door leaving Kagome to pay the bill. She figured that with the big paycheck she will be getting for her commission in the hotel she could afford to indulge a broke med student.

… … …

After the incident on the boat, Kagome realized that she had more than enough pent up frustration, or as Bankotsu called it 'inspiration', to paint the mural for Inutaisho. To say that Bankotsu was excited when he got her call was an understatement. He was jumping off the walls. Apparently this project had been on the horizon for a while. Many artists put together proposals for the mural, but none had succeeded in intriguing the elder youkai.

The project entailed putting a two storey piece of art in the front lobby of the new luxury youkai hotel. From that point the interior designer will step in to compliment her work. She knew that it was a great honour and a very big responsibility, but she also knew that she was hired to be herself. It was her expression of what she felt inside that initially drew them to her. Besides, she was never much of a people pleaser.

Today Bankotsu has her get up extra early to inspect the construction site of the future hotel. She needed to see the space to get a feel for how much natural light played a role and what she could get away with artistically. As they walked in she was handed a hard-hat and a safety vest. A girl led her through the doors and what Kagome saw put her in awe. The space was huge. A row of elevators lined the far wall, just below the space she was to transform. A mock reception desk stood in the middle of the foyer, like an island.

"Now I was told there will be two staircases framing your piece on either side." He said leaning in and making gestures with his hands to illustrate his point. "Other than this rough layout, the rest will be put together around your painting. There was some talk that if it looks like the one you did last week, then the rest could be minimalist".

"Ok" Kagome was looking around with great interest. Turning back to him she said, "Can you get me a blueprint?"

"Done"

"Ok, well I'm gonna stay here a bit." She made her way to the reception desk. Placing her bag upon it she took out a sketchbook and coloured pencils. "Can you pick me up at lunch?"

"I won't forget." He let out a small chuckle and walked away.

For the next few hours Kagome measured, photographed and made detailed observations about the light coming in through the windows. Although her painting depended heavily on emotion, she knew that a project of this scale required planning to be properly executed. Yesterday she made a call to her boss at the fashion house and took two weeks off. This piece required her undivided attention.

There was a lot of noise due to the construction, but nobody ventured into the lobby while she was there. She was glad because this allowed her to take in the grandeur of the place. At around lunchtime a hand on her shoulder brought her out of her reverie. It was her client, Inutaisho.

"A little birdie told me that you were already working. I came to see if you are still up for doing it after seeing the space." She half expected to have him start telling her what he wanted her to do. To her surprise he said not a word about the colours he thought would look good, or even the general feeling he wanted.

"It's going to be a challenge, but I'm feeling good about it." She looked among her papers and took out one to show him. "This is what I'm going for." He took it and spent several moments looking at the sketch of the lobby and mural. When he was done he handed it back to her.

"Whoever got you that angry must be hiding behind a rock right now." His laughter rang out through the unfinished foyer. Its echoes filled all the corners. Kagome smiled back at him.

"I was thinking of setting up and working here, unless I would be in the way of the workers."

"Go for it." He turned to her, "Until we see what you have for us there is nothing to do in here. I'll have the boys stay out of your way and isolate the room so that you don't have dust getting in the way of your creative process."

"Thank, you."

"I should be thanking you for changing your mind. It's not any day that I get so much emotion from a work of art." His eyes scanned the space and he searched for the right words. "There is a youth in your work that I have not felt for a very long time."

Kagome was at a loss for words. Many people appreciated her works, but when another being connected so deeply with them, she felt like she achieved a little bit what she set out to do. Breaking herself out of her stupor she pulled out her daily planner. Taking out a pen that she earlier put in her pocket she made notes.

"I'll be picking up the materials tomorrow and start working on it the day after."

"Don't worry about anyone bothering you. I'll make sure that not a soul comes in here without your permission, even myself, until its done." She gave him a thankful smile.

At that moment the two were interrupted by Bankotsu.

"Ah, I see the two of you are bonding." He walked up to Inutaisho and shook his hand in greeting. He then turned to Kagome, "Ready for lunch?"

"Yes" She replied.

"Would you like to join us?" He inquired of the youkai and received a no in reply.

"Unfortunately, I have to continue on with my inspection of the work. I will be delighted to join the two of you at another time." With those words he strode away back to the exit.

Bankotsu gave her a nudge with his shoulder.

"So? What did the two of you talk about?" She looked upon him with a serene smile.

"About how annoying you are."

"Oh please, and yet you cannot stop spending time with me." The two of them shared a laugh that echoed across the room as they made their way out of the building and to lunch.

… … …

Many more exams to go, I do not expect to have a big enough block in my schedule to write the next chapter till at least May. But, you never know.


	8. Chapter 8

This took a long time to write. Life is amazing and I'm extremely busy living it. I'm not going to complain about wishing I had more time. The fact is I have plenty of time, I just choose not to use it to write this story. I am however honoured that you choose to spend your time reading this story.

… … …

Under One Sky

Chapter 8

Kagome stood at her door for several minutes, fishing for the keys in her bag. Of course she thought it was preposterous to carry her life around with her everywhere she went, but that didn't stop her from doing it anyways. Her hand kept on finding the same several objects that were at the bottom of the bag. The keys were definitely there due to occasion jingle as they moved around, but Kagome couldn't seem to quite get to them. Yelling in frustration, she tossed her bag onto the floor beside her and banged her head against the door several times. She was simply too tired to put any real effort into finding the keys and at this point curling up on the hallway carpet by the door for the night sounded very much inviting.

The door swung open.

"What in the world is going on?" Kouga was both surprised and confused. He reacted quickly to catch his exhausted roommate as she went tumbling into him. Propping her up, he gave her a gentle shake. Concern filled his voice, "Are you alright Kagome?"

"In desperate need of sleep, but fine," Kagome said and stepped away from him to stand on her own. He took her keys and looked back down at her with worry. She shuffled her way to the couch. Inuyasha was occupying it, headphones on, watching the latest episode of Mad Men on his laptop. He raised his eyebrow at her state and patted the spot next to him. Almost instantly, she crumbed into the empty space.

"When is she going to finish that thing she's doing for my dad?" He asked Kouga while taking his headphones off. Kagome snuggled against him.

"When she drops dead, I assume." Kouga replied shrugging.

"She's been coming home like this all week."

"You know I'm here too," Protested Kagome. For over a week she has been working on the mural commissioned by Intaisho. Every morning she got up, made her way to her new makeshift studio in the lobby and slaved away at the piece. Since this was the first time that she attempted to produce work of such scale there was a lot of trial and error. Several times she began working on an idea only to see it flop. This was the not so glamorous or romantic part of being an artist. At times she became so dissolved in her work that she forgot to eat and sleep.

Her roommates helped her by picking up some of her slack around the house. Although initially there was some complaints from Inuyasha, Kouga's glare helped him change his mind. In exchange for the small favours she set up a date for Kouga with Ayame. Easy to say that he was on cloud nine.

"So I called Ayame today and we're all set for tomorrow night." Kouga did a bad job of disguising his excitement. Everybody around them knew that he has had a crush on her for over two years. It came as a big surprise to all their friends that it took them so long to make the slightest bit of progress.

"Where are you going, if it's not a secret?" Asked Kagome, voice muffled by Inuyasha's shoulder. Curiosity was itching at the back of her mind, demanding answers.

"I'll tell you after how it went." Kouga's smile was so big that nothing short of a disaster could shake it. He began staring off into space and running imaginative scenarios of his upcoming date when Inuyasha received a Skype call. He was greeted by his father's smiling face. He appeared to be someplace sunny and tropical.

"Nice view. Where you at dad?"

"I had to make an emergency trip to check on the Fiji hotel." Said the older youkai.

"Aha, heard that one before." Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "And you decided to endow the knowledge of your urgent departure because…"

"Must there be a reason for your father to call you. How hard is it to believe that I would call you simply due to my overflowing love for you." Inutaisho feigned a hurt look.

"Because you always have a motive behind everything," At this Inuyasha turned towards Kagome and enlisted her opinion, "Right, Kagome?"

"Oh shush you silly," She smacked his shoulder and scooted a little closer to join in the conversation. "Hello!" she said vehemently shaking her hands.

"Well hello miss artist." Inutaisho waived back, "I hear you have been very busy with the little task I entrusted you with."

"She's been killing herself." Cut in Inuyasha. "Now stop avoiding the topic. Did you tell Sess before you left or is this another one of those run-away things?" His face had a look much like that of a parent scolding a child and his finger was wagging back and forth with every word he spoke.

With a big goofy grin on his face, Inutaisho scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, about that. Could you pass it on that I'll be gone indefinitely."

"What?" His younger son had an explosive reaction. Inutaisho shrugged and took a sip of his exotic drink.

"Oh and Kagome, our progress meeting is still on. The project manager will take you in my place." With a wink and a wave he was gone and Inuyasha was cursing at the screen with obscenities that should never be repeated.

… … …

I know its short and sweet but it felt right ending it here. The fun starts up again in the next chapter.

Let me know what you think by leaving a review.


	9. Chapter 9

It took a while to get this chapter finished. To put it frankly I'm out living life and occasionally watching Running Man.

The protagonists meet again. This might prove to be interesting.

Enjoy!

Under One Sky

Chapter 9

… … …

Music was blaring at full blast. AC/DC might have seemed like an odd choice, but Hell's Bells fit Kagome's inspiration perfectly. She was bopping her head to the beat while air-drumming. The room could be described as being an 'artistic mess'. The floor was a mess of canvasses, paint, newspapers and empty packaging. It all seemed to only fuel her creativity. She would scavenge for tools and have sudden bursts of inspiration as she came upon things by chance.

This was the scene that greeted her surprise company. The strange music blasting all throughout the construction site tipped him off in advance that something was out of place. The next warning was the big grin he got from the site officer as he was escorted to the future lobby. Neither of those however gave him ample enough warning about the situation he was about to find himself in.

For several minutes he stood there as she danced to the music, enthralled in her work. With forceful strokes she smeared paint over the canvas in front of her. From time to time she took steps back to inspect and release an eerie laugh. The song ended and Black Sabbath's War Pigs rolled out. The visitor stood frozen as she began singing along. Never had he expected to come upon such a sight, much less while inspecting the progress at a construction site.

Coming out of his shock the visitor took gentle steps and carefully stepped around the junk strewn all over the floor. He approached Kagome and stood behind her. For several moments more she worked at her masterpiece. Finally she took several steps back and bumped into her visitor. A loud scream left her mouth. Startled, she whirled around fell backwards. In front of her stood the person whose murder she was re-enacting on canvas, Sesshoumaru.

"Oh my god! It's the devil's apparition," exclaimed Kagome clutching the fabric of her shirt in front of her heart. Her chest was rapidly moving up and down, following her ragged breaths.

"Satan in the flesh. I came to pay you a visit and see if you've been a naughty girl," said Sesshoumaru in a bland stoic voice as he stood over her with a pleased look. She narrowed her eye at him

"You scared my on purpose. You arrogant ass, you!" Her right index finger flew up to wave at him accusingly. "How long were you spying on me in wait?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." He chuckled. "For all you know I could have been watching you for hours. I will enjoy reading the comments on the Youtube video of you dancing that I put up just now."

"What!" She jumped up.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. I arrived not too long before you noticed me." He turned away from her and examined the work she has been doing. The colour red was definitely the main theme of the mural. Not a drop of paint in any other colour was to be found on any of the already finished canvases.

"Well excuse me Mr. Stalker." She huffed and bent down to pick up the brush she dropped in surprise. "You seem to be following me everywhere I go; first my room, then on the boat, and now here. I must smell like doggy treats for you to follow me around like a puppy."

"Don't flatter yourself," he replied. "I'm here on behalf of my father to meet with the artist of the commissioned work for the lobby." His eyes looked straight into hers and his nose wrinkled in disgust. "Imagine my horror when I came upon the sight of you."

"You're the project manager?" She exclaimed in surprise. He simply looked back at her and shook his head while looking away. "You?" She repeated.

"Yes, indeed I am."

"Well shit me a brick. Never saw this coming." Kagome took off her apron and tossed it onto her makeshift desk.

"Excuse me?" His head whipped around to regard her with confusion. Her colourful expression had him question his hearing. She simply dug out her purse and headed in the direction of the door. When she reached the plastic protecting the room from outside dust she turned around.

"Are you coming?" Her left eyebrow climbed up ever so little in response to his frozen stance. "I'm sure you'd agree that the faster this meeting is over the faster I can get you out of my hair and into the hair of some loose legged woman." With those words she stalked away leaving him scrambling after her in a rage.

… … …

By the time she came to the street Sesshoumaru managed to catch up to her. She looked left and right to try and spot the flashiest car. None were in sight. All she could see on the flock were the familiar pick-up trucks of the construction crew. She turned to face him.

"I don't see your car. Don't tell me you walked here." The look upon her face was that of complete surprise. Never could she have imagined such an occurrence.

"No" replied Sesshoumaru gruffly, "I took a taxi." He didn't know whether to be offended at the fact that she thought him too snobby to walk or rub it in her face that he didn't have to do so if he so desired.

"Oh" was her meek reply, followed by a more curious, "Why?"

He stared down at her obviously thinking that this was much too stupid of a question to warrant an answer. Instead he took a quick glance at his cell to check the time.

"Look, I much rather get rid of you as fast as possible, so how about we be civil for a little bit. Once our business is done you can go on hating on me all you want." Kagome looked thoughtful for a few moments. She weighed the pros and cons. It really did seem to her advantage to get him off her shoulders quickly.

"That works." Kagome nodded. Sesshoumaru took that as a sign for temporary peace and raised his arm up to flag a passing taxi.

… … …

I wonder what happens next…. It will have to wait until after my rafting trip.

Please don't forget to leave a review so that I can improve from your feedback.

xoxoxoxo


	10. Chapter 10

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Pardon the errors. I did not read it over after I wrote it.

Enjoy!

Under One Sky

Chapter 10

… … …

Kagome was not too surprised to get out of the taxi at the Garden Society Club. Only the cream of the crop of society were members. To become a member of the club was nearly unheard of. Nearly the only way to get the privilege to socialize amongst this puppetry was by marriage or birth. To be honest, Kagome always wanted to see what made this particular club so special. Being a free spirit she definitely did not want to join. Well, she would never admit to wanting to join. In order to ease her conscience she filed such thoughts under the better to be in on the conspiracy than not category.

"Welcome Mr. Taisho. Will you be eating lunch or shall I escort you to a meeting room?" Said the concierge after acknowledging her.

"A table in the English Garden will be sufficient." Replied Sesshoumaru nonchalantly. A slim brunette escorted them to their table. The entire walk there Kagome did everything she could not to gawk. She had a big passion for flowers and they were everywhere. Fresh cut bouquets in compositions she could only describe as breathtaking and perfectly tended gardens peering through the terrace doors. No word other than heaven came to her.

Sesshoumaru leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Close your mouth. It's quite embarrassing."

His words startled her out of her reverie. "Oh just let me enjoy the moment, would you!" She snapped back in an attempt to save face.

"You can enjoy whatever you want, but since I don't enjoy your company you better pick up your jaw off the floor and run along for our meeting." His words ignited anger in her eyes yet again. Sesshoumaru put up his hand to quiet her pending protests. "Yes I am being civil. As civil as I can be towards you, so don't give me that look. Or am I mistaken about something and you are actually in full revelry of my company?" He cocked his head to the side.

The flame in her eyes reached the level of hell's inferno, but she held it in. She grumbled something under her breath that even with his demon hearing Sesshoumaru couldn't catch and shuffled past him to follow the brunette leading them to their table. Their destination was a table off to the side, surrounded by azalea bushes in full bloom. Fine china and silver cutlery was pre-set and waiting for them. Out of nowhere appeared a waiter to help her into her chair, startling Kagome in the process.

"May I offer you a drink while you observe the menu?" He asked her. She scampered to read the menu.

"I'll be just a moment, let Sesshoumaru order first."

Sesshoumaru was surprised at her lack of etiquette, but complied none the less. "The usual, Richard, please."

Kagome raised an eyebrow at his familiarity with the staff. It wasn't hard to figure out that he was more than a little active around the club. She settled her eyes on the first item that popped off at her on the menu. "Tuna tar-tar please, Richard." She took one off Sesshoumaru's books. The waiter looked startled at first, but pretended that nothing was amiss. "I'll have a mimosa to go along with that."

To seal the deal she threw a sexy wink at the waiter, who happened to be very hunky. A light blush stained his face as he excused himself to fulfill their orders.

"Can you please at least pretend like you have some class." Sesshoumaru stated dryly.

Kagome shrugged her shoulders. "Take me as I am my friend."

After their little bit of verbal play the two settled down to discuss the project. It came as little surprise to her how well versed he was on the project, in particular on the details that surrounded the incorporation of her piece in the lobby. "You sure know a lot about art for a businessman."

"I know a lot about a lot of things." He stated brushing off her comment to continue talking about the business at hand. Kagome had heard a lot about him and his cold demeanor. Inuyasha particularly liked to bring up his lack of compassion towards incompetence, which was the only quality that he praised. She also found that as one of his redeeming qualities. Many might not see it but he strived to bring out the best work from those he associated with. It was a kind of expect the best and they will surprise you with better principle.

It reminded her a bit of Bankotsu. He also managed to get the best work out of people. The approach however, was different. He instilled belief in people's abilities rather than fear of repercussions of failure.

Kagome's senses picked up a powerful and unhappy demon aura approaching their table. She knew that Sesshoumaru also felt it, how could he not. He did not bat a lash and continued to discuss lighting options as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Kagome's anxiety spiked as the aura got closer and she darted her eyes to the side. A group of four demonesses, led by an all to familiar face was approaching them.

A realization dawned on Kagome. She knew why Sesshoumaru seemed so familiar the first time she saw him sitting in her living room. His ex-girlfriend and movie star extraordinaire, Kagura , was approaching them. She and her posse were closing in fast.

Sesshoumaru finally broke, as they were nearing them. Running his hand through his hair, which Kagome found looked rather sexy, he spoke "What is it now? Can't you see I'm having a business meeting."

"Oh. I simply came by to say hi and see who this lovely young lady was. I have not seen you around before. You must be a guest." That was a clear stab at Kagome's status.

"She is a business associate of mine." Sesshoumaru stated in an attempt to signal to Kagura that they were occupied and would prefer not to be disturbed.

Pretending not to read the situation, Kagura extended her hand to Kagome, "Kagura, and you are?" Kagome looked at the hand and timidly pulled out her own for a handshake.

"Kagome. It's a pleasure." Kagura looked into her eyes, and then swept a gaze along her face. It was full of scrutiny, making Kagome feel as if she was just some insignificant ugly duckling. Kagura was a vision of beauty. Long flowing hair cascaded down her back, offsetting her toned body and perfect posture. Not a blemish could be seen on her face. Crimson eyes were peeking out of her long curled lashes, playing perfectly with the rich colour of her scarlet lipstick.

Not one to stand for being spat upon, Kagome went on the offensive. "Pleasure is all mine. You must me Sesshoumaru's ex-girlfriend." She turned to him and with a smile added, "Am I correct?" She struck gold.

It was a well known fact, exploded out of proportion by the gossip rags, that Kagura was dumped by Sesshoumaru about a year back. Some said that she cheated. Others said he found himself a new beauty queen. There was even rumors of their parents opposing the pairing. What it all came down to was that Kagura still burned for him.

Kagome's words silenced her. Sesshoumaru only nodded. A look of satisfaction crossed his face. Kagura's friends looked shocked. A shorter brunette in a bright yellow sun dress exclaimed, "How dare you! Classless sluts like you should keep their mouths shut when they don't know what they're talking about!"

That hit a nerve in Kagome, "I think you should look in the mirror before making such assumptions."

To everybody's surprise Sesshoumaru put his two cents in as well, "This young lady has more class than the whole lots of you can get your daddies to buy for you. Now run along while we actually do something useful with our lives." He accented his words by using his hand to shoo his past lover and her three Barbie friends away.

Astonishment was the last thing Kagome saw pay across Kagura's face as she spun away, followed by her friends. With a smile she looked at Sesshoumaru, "Thank you." Grateful for his defense.

"What for?" He raised a brow. "You don't actually think I said that in your favour? All five of you put together have less class than a newborn baby."

… … …

It's hard to tell if they're bonging or not, but at least they are more civil towards each other.

I'm debating putting more Sesshoumaru/Kagome interactions into the next chapter, or taking a small detour to set the stage with the other characters. I need your opinions.

Please drop me a review and tell me what you liked/disliked, it will be greatly appreciated.

Xoxoxo


	11. Chapter 11

It has indeed been a long time since I've updated. Summer is over and now I might be in possession of more free time.

Under One Sky

Chapter 11

… … …

Once a month Kouga invited all his buddies over for a tasting of the new products from his laboratory. Many strange disasters have been avoided. For instance, two months ago they were trying out a glow in the dark vodka. At first it seemed like a great idea; perfect for clubs. That was until they realized that when consumed in large amounts your pee would glow in the dark as well. Naturally they were all excited about that as well, but the FDA disapproved.

This time around Kouga brought a new tequila they were working to market towards the premium market. A strong showing reflected the excitement in the air. This was going to be the best boys night to date.

"Ok you all know the rules, if you want to drink you must surrender your car keys, and your phones." Kouga was very strict when it came to mixing drinking and driving. A good friend of his in university hit a deer while driving home drunk with Kouga in the car. It served as a reminder of the dangers of the road. Surrendering the phones became a tradition soon after they began their tasting parties. On several occasion members of their group would wake up the next day with no recollection only to realize that they drunk called or texted somebody. So they cut the problem off at the source.

One by one the guys went about placing their possessions in a basket. When the turn came to Miroku he dropped his keys and passed the basket to Inuyasha.

"Come on man! Not again." Exclaimed Inuyasha, "You do this every damned time."

"I have important clients that need me at all times of the day. There is no way I can surrender my phone." Protested Miroku.

"Look at it this way." Reasoned Kouga, "What use are you going to be to them drunk. Even if you answer your phone all they will get is you yelling at them for being idiots."

At that moment Miroku's phone began ringing. He jumped up and picked it up after digging it out of his pocket. "Miroku speaking." After a moment of listening to the person on the other line his face became serious. "I understand. Where exactly are you? Ok, I'm on my way."

He hung up and turned to Kouga. "Looks like the fun is over." Miroku went over to the basket with the keys and phones and picked his keys up. "Inuyasha, Kouga, you guys might want to tag along. I promise you are going to laugh for a very long time."

… … …

The rest of their lunch went uninterrupted. Kagome got to clear up some questions regarding the direction that Sesshoumaru wanted the mural to go, and he in turn got a preview of the work.

They now were back in the lobby waiting for the valet to bring around Sesshoumaru's car.

"Do you just leave it here like that all the time?" Asked Kagome. It struck her as odd that they took a taxi here. She was not surprised to find out that he indeed did drive.

"No. There was a benefit here last night." Sesshoumaru answered, his tone a lot less sarcastic after their business meeting. "After a few drinks I decided that it would be wiser for me to take a club car home."

"I'd have thought a fancy place like this would send someone to take you home in your car." To Kagome it seemed so logical, but apparently not to him. He gave her a side glare and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you go and try to make me seem like a snob. It takes a lot of hard work to enjoy such luxuries." He turned away from her and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "If you continue to pretend to hate my bourgeois ways then I won't bother giving you a ride back to the site."

She put her hands up and shook her head. "Geeze, just trying to make conversation. No need to bite my head off for an offhand comment."

A silver Mercedes G500 rounded the bend. The driver pulled up, hopped out and with a bow motioned for Sesshoumaru to take the wheel. Another valet attendant appeared to open the passenger side door for Kagome.

She slid into the car and squealed. Her hands began roaming around the interior. Nothing escaped her touch. Every surface got caressed, every button her fingers could reach got pressed, and every compartment got inspected by her. She twisted in her seat to look at the back of the vehicle. Sesshoumaru immediately realized what was the matter. He was just as excited when he first got the car. Only difference was that he held his excitement long enough to revel in the wonders of the car all alone.

"Sit down woman. Buckle yourself in." She settled into the seat but continued to fiddle with the buttons. He gently smacked her hand as she was reaching for the onboard computer. "Must I remind you to keep your hands off my car?" She instantly brought her hands to her chest. To get on his good side she put on a puppy face, lower lip in a pout.

Ignoring her he shifted the car to drive. "The site is on my way back to the office, so I'll drop you off there."

"That works." She said, still a little sore from getting scolded. They drove in silence. Sesshoumaru did not bother to turn on the radio to drown out the silence with its droning. Kagome's hands were itching to touch something, anything. She knew exactly what he was trying to do. She had done the same thing many times with Bankotsu. After an argument, with the radio off, she would act as if she was absolutely fine and relaxed. Assuming that they were the only one tense, the other person would become a tense, nervous wreck. The silence of the car acted as an accelerant to fuel the fire of their unease.

There was no way she was going to let him get the best of her. A plan of action came into her head. "Stop! Stop, stop!" her sudden yelling rang out in the quietness of the car. "Pull over! Right now!" She frantically pointed to the curb.

Sesshoumaru was a little surprised at her outburst and immediately complied with her command. "What happened?" He appeared concerned. She received a once over from him. Nothing seemed out of place with her, at least as far as he could tell. "Is something wrong?"

Kagome shrugged, unbuckled herself and shook her head, "No, we just almost passed a Starbucks." She opened her car door, but didn't get out. "I really need my mint tea. Hope you don't mind stopping by on the way. Too late too ask since you already stopped."

"Christ woman! I thought something was wrong." He exclaimed, "I thought I ran over a squirrel or something. Control your reactions a bit."

"You've run over a squirrel before?!" She pretended to be appalled. When she got her first car, on her way home from work at night, she ran over a raccoon. She cried for two days. Nobody to this day knew about the incident, and she wanted to keep it that way. It didn't stop her from pulling Sesshoumaru's leg. "How cruel. I know that youkai are cold blooded killers, but an innocent squirrel. What did it ever do to you?" She scratched the back of her head, knit her brows together, and glanced at him accusingly "Wait, it sounds like it has happened more that once." She stretched a silence and shot him a dirty look. "Are you a squirrel serial killer?"

The best way to describe how Sesshoumaru felt at the moment was astonished. He sat in his seat looking at her the entire time she went on about squirrels. It was difficult to the tell whether she really was upset. All this could have been another one of her games. She seemed to have many, so he chose to play along.

"Yes, it is a secret hobby of mine." To make his point he tossed her a wink and placed his finger upon his lips as if sharing a top secret. "Oh and while you are at Starbucks, get me a tall soy americano. I'll be waiting here."

Kagome winked back, realizing that he caught on to her. "I knew it. I'll be back in a flash." She reached into the car and snatched his cell phone from its resting place beside him. "And that is so that you don't drive off without me."

With a shake of his head Sesshoumaru watched her run back down the street towards the coffee shop. True to her word, he caught sight of her in the rearview mirror, walking with the drinks soon after. She placed a cup on the roof of the car as she opened the door. In what he now realized was her typical fashion, she left it up there as she closed the door.

"Here is your tall soy americano." Kagome handed him his drink. She then proceeded to scratch her head and look around. She blew out a frustrated sigh, "I swear I bought myself a drink and brought it to the car. I must be going crazy." Her arms flew up in frustration. The urge to step on the gas and show her where she left her drink behind was only defeated by Sesshoumaru's deep love for his car. As much fun as it would be to see her mortified, he would not do it as to keep his precious baby clean.

"You left it on the roof of the car." His words came out sounding banal. As if it was the most obvious thing.

"Oh shit." Kagome made swift work retrieving it.

"Aha." He started the car again and shifted it into drive. The air in the car seemed much calmer and more relaxed now that Kagome has her tea to hind behind. She saw a squirrel out the window in the park.

At the top of her lungs she screamed, "Squirrel!" Her arm shot out to point at the squirrel in the park, which was to the left of the car. This caused Sesshoumaru to jerk his arm away and in a flash hot liquid was soaking into the front of his shirt and pants.

Instantly Sesshoumaru pressed swerved the car and slammed the break. The heat was searing his skin. To add to his distress, the was suddenly strongly hit from behind, followed by another shove.

… … …

Did not have time to read this over.

I have a feeling I moved their relationship a little too fast, but they did need to get in some trouble. Dun dun dun.

Please don't hesitate to leave a review if you had any opinion about it at all.


	12. Chapter 12

Some very big changes in my life are happening. This might mean more time for me to work on this story. Since my best work is done when I'm writing essays, please forgive my blunt writing style.

Under One Sky

Chapter 12

Miroku parked his car at the police station and the trio got out. Inuyasha began glancing around. During his crazy party years in high school, he had spent many a night with the men in uniform. A few of those nights were quite memorable, not for good reasons. Revisiting those memories was not on the top of the list of things he would like to do. In fact, that would be something on top of the list of things he would like to forget.

"Why did you bring us here." Asked Inuyasha, confusion written all over his face. "I really don't find police stations funny." He carefully straightened his clothes, tucking his shirt in. Cupping his hands in front of his face, he blew into them to check his breath. "Can I wait outside in the car for you to finish?"

Miroku shook his head leading the way to the entrance, "Trust me, you really want to see this one as it happens. You would never let me live it down if I didn't drag you in there."

"This is all so mysterious!" Rubbing his hands together exclaimed Kouga reaching for the gum in his back pocket. He offered a piece to Inuyasha who seemed to be in slight panic mode.

Miroku walked confidently up to the front desk and proceeded to flirt with the older lady working at it. Whatever he did worked, because shortly the three were being shown the way to a private office in the far corner of the station.

"Due to the high profile nature of your client we felt that it would be best to keep him away from the public eye. They are in Sergeant Castello's office." The uniform leading them stopped in front of a wooden door with a glass window. The blinds were down, obstructing the view into the office.

"Thank you for your discretion." Miroku and the officer exchanged a handshake. Turning back to the two friends he waved them forward and leaned in, as if sharing a secret. "Don't make a big deal out of this till we get home. Cool?" In return he got two nods. Satisfied he knocked on the door.

A loud rusty creaking of an old swivel chair could be heard. It was followed by heavy, angry footsteps and the door swinging open to reveal Kagome. To say she was irate would be an understatement. She had the look of the devil, livid about the hell freezing over. "What fucking took you so long?" Her words coming out sounding much more like a growl. "I've been stuck in here with this monster for over six hours. Get me out of here. Now!" The last part came out as a scream.

All three men were in shock. To them Kagome was the model of positivism. No matter what the situation, she always found a way to brush it off. And she most certainly never ever lost it and screamed. In her rage, she let the door swing open all the way. It hit the wall with a very loud clang and would have swung back closed had Miroku not stopped it. He gently pushed it back open, assessing the damage that had already been done to it.

She made her way back to the swivel chair she occupied before. Sitting down with a huff she kicked the Sergeants desk to vent her frustrations. Kouga began his slow approach into the room. As her room mate he knew it was his job to keep her calm. The next thing he heard had him frozen to the ground in shock.

"Why is the goon squad here?" Sesshoumaru was sitting on a couch in the corner of the room. He held a law book in his lap. Although at first glance it might have looked like he was a picture of serenity, Inuyasha knew right away that his half-brother was in much the same mood as Kagome.

"To keep the two of you from killing each other." Miroku shrugged and walked in. To Inuyasha he looked a bit too nonchalant about the whole situation. He motioned for Inuyasha to come in from the doorway. Peaking out of the door to make sure they had privacy he closed the door. After that he took a seat in an empty chair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees while clasping his hands together. "So does either of you mind explaining why all of us have come to be gathered here?"

Immediately Kagome jumped up and ran into Kouga's arms for protection, "Not my fault! He was the one driving." She pointed at Sesshoumaru.

The accused growled. "It happened because you are an imbecile." Removing the book from his lap he stood from the couch. He glanced at his watch, then spoke to the lawyer. "I have no time to be discussing this nightmare yet again. If I'm not out of here in the next ten minutes, then you can count yourself fired."

"You caused an eight car pileup. I think I need to know at least a little about the mess I'm dealing with."

"You're paid to work, not ask me stupid questions."

Kouga coughed into his hand and pointed at Sesshoumaru, "Not to pour oil to the fire, but why do you have a giant shit coloured stain all over the front of your pant?" Kagome squirmed into Kouga and whispered.

"Coffee coloured."

Immediately all the attention was on her. Feeling the pressure she caved. "So I might have accidentally pushed him and he might have accidentally spilled a cup of steaming hot coffee onto his lap."

The three mediators immediately winced. They all knew all too well in how much pain Sesshoumaru must have been. "Do you need to go to the hospital?" Miroku inquired.

"No" Sesshoumaru replied, sitting back down. The glare he was sending towards the girl seeking refuge from the wolf demon intensified. "I'm all healed already."

"I see. Well I'm going to go arrange for this matter to be sorted and call for your assistant to bring you an extra change of clothing." As soon as Miroku closed the office door behind him loud laughter rang out in the hallway. Smiles made their way onto the faces of Kouga and Inuyasha in response, they were quickly wiped away by the glares of the car accident duo.

… … …

A very short chapter. I should probably re-read it to weed out the spelling mistakes, but I really cannot be bothered. Yes, I do understand that it is a dis-service to my readers who choose to spend their time reading my story.

Even if I'm an ungrateful fool still please review. ~^_^~


	13. Chapter 13

Most of this chapter has been gathering dust for a few months now. After a particularly bored day at work I thought a bit about where the story is going and wrote the rest up. It is a short transition piece for more crazy drama to come.

… … …

"O.M.G.! Like half the town knows that you and Mr. Hottie got into a car accident. Why didn't you tell me you knew him. I could die he is gorgeous." Jakotsu called Kagome earlier in the day demanding they meet for lunch. He complained of missing her bustling around the studio, but now she knew better. Apparently news of their small traffic accident managed to spread very fast and very far.

"I don't know him." Mumbled Kagome, "well not on friendly terms at least."

"Honey! You think getting it down between the sheets requires you to know him. Please, the less he says the better". Jakotsu leaned in, "As they say, the pretty ones always have clouds up here". His finger tapped the side of his head. Taking a heavy sigh he leaned back. "When are you going to finish that stupid project, we need you at the atelier."

"Believe me, there is nothing I want more". She raised her glass to the light to examine her wine in the light of the window. Tilting it, she took a sip. "One good thing to come out of the accident is my hyper productivity."

"I'd work harder too if I had such a hunk plaguing my thoughts," chimed in Jakotsu. Kagome blushed and reached across the table to gently whack him on the arm. "Oh don't deny it, he's as hot as a supernova. And those eyes, oh those eyes. I bet they could melt even your heart. In the least they have got to make you come with just a wink."

"Yes, and there really is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Whatever he makes up in looks, his personality cancels out". She leaned back in her seat, adding in a resigned tone "several times over."

"Oh shush. You're just surly that you are starting to rust in between your legs". The two of them burst out in laughter.

"Well said. Anyways, I'm mostly done the actual individual pieces of the mural. I think I can get to mounting it within the next few days". She let out a long sigh, "and you know me, that's when I start nitpicking the little things."

Kagome was a perfectionist and Jakotsu loved her for that. God forbid she sent out a confusing pattern out to the factory or a dress down the runway that was not impeccably made. She picked up on his creative slack.

"I'll be happy to have you back. How in the world did you talk me into giving you so much time for this". He made a show of pulling his hair.

"Don't know." Kagome shrugged. " Maybe because you love me so much? Oh wait, that's not it. That's right, I remember. Nobody makes you money like I do. Which reminds me I must bolt and leave you with the bill." She stood up, placing her napkin beside her dirty plate, grabbed her purse and leaned over to give her favourite boss a hug.

… … …

The best news that Kagome got all week was of the return of Inutaisho. Her level of excitement came close to that of a Bieber fan at a concert. No longer would she have to contact the bane of her existence for anything related to the mural. Since the accident it became a dance of two snakes. Avoiding each other at all costs only to realize that they were praying on the same mouse. His assistant got the brunt of both of their anger. In all honesty she didn't feel a slight bit bad for the horrendous looking creature who insisted on calling his boss Lord Sesshoumaru.

Inutaisho's visit to the condo came as an especially good surprise. She could hardly contain her happiness at his return and walked around grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Did you have a nice time wherever it is you went?" Inuyasha practically barked at his dad. "Cause I definitely didn't have a nice time picking up your slack. Never did I sign up for attending board meetings. Completely not fair. Next time you leave please make it clear that the jerk with a hole up his ass is prepared to cover all your appointments."

Inutaisho chuckled at his younger son's attitude, "I cannot wait for the day the two of you get along enough to laugh about all these nicknames you two have for eachother."

That immediately had Inuyasha's attention, "What has that asshole been saying about me?"

"Cannot be much nice than what you have been saying about him." Chimed in Kagome. She placed a tray of macaroons on the coffee table along with tea for everyone. "Mind you I share your opinion and could help you come up with more creative and derogatory insults if you should ever dire to consult me."

"That reminds me." Inutaisho took a sip of his tea, "Did the meeting with Sesshoumaru go well?" That caught Kagome in the middle of a sip of her tea which went down the wring way. Frantically coughing, she ran into the kitchen to calm down.

Puzzled, Inutaisho looked towards his son who could barely contain his laughter, "Was it something I said."

"Wait till you hear this." Inuyasha tried to hold it together, "Guess where I had to pick those two up after their business meeting."

"Where?" Inutaisho was all attention.

"Jail"

… … …

Not sure when the next chapter will be written as I have boy troubles of my own. Who knew dealing with an amazingly sweet guy would be a problem.

Some editing was done to make up for my thoughts that run much faster than I type.

Oh and be a sweetie and leave a review, it is very rewarding to be able to have any form of feedback from readers.


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